Blower

ABSTRACT

A blower has an air outlet duct having an internal space, and an air outlet opening extending from the air outlet duct. A fan having a plurality of blades is positioned inside the internal space. A base seat is positioned below the air outlet duct, with an air inlet provided in a side wall of the base seat, and with an air inlet pipe extending from the air inlet. A motor is positioned in the base seat and has a shaft that extends through the air outlet duct to be coupled to the blades.

RELATED CASES

This is a continuation-in-part of co-pending Ser. No. 11/264,276, filedNov. 1, 2005, whose entire disclosure is incorporated by this referenceas though set forth fully herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a blower.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A conventional blower typically includes an electric motor, air blades,and a centrifugal air channel. The air blades are oriented vertically inthe air channel. The electric motor is positioned on one side of the airchannel, and an air inlet is formed at the other side. When the power isturned on, the electric motor drives the air blades to rotate. After theair blades draw in air from the air inlet, the air is blown out throughthe air outlet of the air channel.

Unfortunately, this configuration for a conventional blower suffers fromsome drawbacks. One disadvantage of the conventional fan is that the airis drawn from many differents directions into the air inlet, whichcauses unstable airflow and high noise. In addition, it can only performthe single function of blowing air.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blower thatovercomes the drawbacks described above.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a blower thatfacilitates stable air flow and reduces noise.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide amultifunctional blower.

In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention, the presentinvention provides a blower that has an air outlet duct having aninternal space, and an air outlet opening extending from the air outletduct. A fan having a plurality of blades is positioned inside theinternal space. A base seat is positioned below the air outlet duct,with an air inlet provided in a side wall of the base seat, and with anair inlet pipe extending from the air inlet. A motor is positioned inthe base seat and has a shaft that extends through the air outlet ductto be coupled to the blades.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a blower according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, a blower according to the present invention has abase seat 1, an electric motor 2, and a fan that is coupled to the motor2. The fan can be provided in the form of a rotor having a plurality ofblades 4. The motor 2 is retained inside the base seat 1. An air outletduct 33 is defined by an upper air cover 32 and a lower air cover 31,with the blades 4 positioned in the space defined by the air covers 31and 32. The air outlet duct 33 has an air outlet opening 30, with an airoutlet screen 300 provided thereat. The air outlet duct 33 is positionedabove the base seat 1, and has an air inlet opening 34 at about thecenter of the lower air cover 31.

The base seat 1 has a base plate 11 that functions as a bottom piece,and an air outlet opening 16 that is provided in a top wall 18 of thebase seat 1. An air inlet pipe 101 extends from an opening in the sidewall 17 of the base seat 1. A sleeve 14 is arranged around the exteriorof the air inlet pipe 101. An air inlet screen 15 is fixed at the airinlet opening of the sleeve 14. The air inlet pipe 101, the base seat 1,and the base plate 11 together form an air inlet duct 19. The shaft ofthe electric motor 2 extends vertically from the air outlet opening 16of the base seat 1 and is inserted through the air inlet opening 34 ofthe air outlet duct 33, to be operatively connected to the blades 4. Theair inlet opening 34 of the air outlet duct 33 is fluidly connected tothe air outlet opening 16 of the air inlet duct 19. A switch 12 isprovided on one side of base seat 1, and protected by a switch cover 13.

When the switch 12 is turned on, the electric motor 2 drives the blades4 to rotate. The air enters the air inlet duct 19 via the air inletscreen 15 and the air inlet pipe 101, and flows through the surface ofthe electric motor 2. The air then enters the air outlet duct 33 (viathe openings 16 and 34) and is fed to the air outlet opening 30 by theblades 4.

The blower of FIG. 1 can be used to perform different functions. Forexample, to evacuate an article from the interior of the blower (e.g.,inside the air inlet duct 19), it is only necessary to connect a pump orvacuum to the air inlet opening of the sleeve 14 using a pipe (notshown). In addition, to blow out a certain gas in a certain direction,it is only necessary to connect the opening of a bottle (not shown)filled with that gas to the air inlet opening of the sleeve 14 using apipe (not shown). The gas from the bottle can be drawn into the airinlet duct 19, through the air outlet duct 33, and then blown out fromthe air outlet opening 30, with the amount of gas blown out beingcontrolled by controlling the flow rate in the pipe.

The construction of the blower of the present invention results in thefollowing:

1. Since the air inlet opening of the air inlet duct 19 is concentratedat the opening of the air inlet pipe 101, and the electric motor 2 issealed inside the air inlet duct 19, the incoming airflow is stable, andthe noise is low.

2. It is possible to connect an external air pipe at the opening of theair inlet pipe 101 to extract air from the inside of the air inlet duct19. It is also possible to connect a bottled gas to the air inlet pipe101 so that the gas can be blown out through the air outlet opening 30.Thus, the number of functions of the blower is increased.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claimsare intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A blower that is supported on a surface, comprising: an air outletduct having an internal space, and an air outlet opening extending fromthe air outlet duct; a fan having a plurality of blades positionedinside the internal space; a base seat positioned below the air outletduct, the base seat having a side wall, with an air inlet provided inthe side wall, and an air inlet pipe extending from the air inlet; and amotor positioned in the base seat and having a shaft that extendsthrough the air outlet duct to be coupled to the blades.
 2. The blowerof claim 1, wherein the blades are positioned horizontally with respectto the surface.
 3. The blower of claim 1, further including a sleeveprovided around the air inlet pipe.
 4. The blower of claim 3, furtherincluding a protective screen provided at one end of the sleeve.
 5. Amethod of blowing a gas stored in a bottle, comprising: a. providing ablower that is supported on a surface, the blower having: an air outletduct having an internal space, and an air outlet opening extending fromthe air outlet duct; a fan having a plurality of blades positionedinside the internal space; a base seat positioned below the air outletduct, the base seat having a side wall, with an air inlet provided inthe side wall, and an air inlet pipe extending from the air inlet; and amotor positioned in the base seat and having a shaft that extendsthrough the air outlet duct to be coupled to the blades; b. coupling thebottle to the air inlet pipe; c. drawing the gas from the bottle throughthe air inlet pipe; d. passing the drawn gas through the motor beforedelivering the gas to the air outlet duct; and e. directing the air fromthe air outlet duct out of the air outlet opening.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further including: controlling the rate at which the gas flowsthrough the air inlet pipe.